How we cite our quotes: Paragraph (P#) or Line (Line #)
Quote #4
Christian: Good brother, be not offended; I am sorry I have brought thee out of the way, and that I have put thee into such imminent danger. Pray, my brother, forgive me; I did not do it of an evil intent.
Hopeful: Be comforted, my brother, for I forgive thee; and believe, too, that this shall be for our good. (P598-599)
Aw… forgiveness in action. Having taken Christian's suggestion to walk in the softer grass of By-Path Meadow (instead of the parallel rocky road) the pilgrims have quickly realized their error. The interesting thing about this exchange, however, is the mutual forgiveness between them. Both seem to realize that this is no time for a tiff, but they realize this because of their shared acceptance of the blame—Hopeful for not speaking up louder, Christian for being headstrong. As Hopeful says "this shall be for our good."
Quote #5
Then for their encouragement, they heard the voice of one saying Let thine heart be towards the Highway, even the way that thou wentest, turn again. (P615)
Ah, the "far away voice." It speaks to the pilgrims frequently in the story, sometimes seeming to come from within, sometimes from above. It's worthwhile to consider what you think it is or it represents. Here, though, the voice presents Christian and Hopeful with a direct way to think of getting out of By-Pass Meadow: what it will take for them to be recovered and returned to the right way. Essentially, they are being instructed in what they'll need to do to be forgiven—turn their hearts toward what they know is right.
Quote #6
[...] and because the right way was rough in that place, they chose to go out of it into that Meadow, and there were taken by Giant Despair, and cast into Doubting Castle; where, after they had been awhile kept in the Dungeon, he at last did put out their eyes, and led them among those Tombs, where he has left them to wander to this very day, that the saying of the Wise Man might be fulfilled, He that wandereth out of the way of understanding, shall remain in the congregation of the dead. Then Christian and Hopeful looked upon one another, with tears gushing out, but yet said nothing to the Shepherds. (P628)
Christian and Hopeful are, in a way, hearing their own story from the Delectable Mountain shepherds here, but with a difference. See, these shepherds have a piece of information that Christian doesn't: the fate that would have met them, had they not escaped Doubting Castle. Bunyan's allegory for what it's like to be trapped in doubt is pretty chilling too. It means blindness, aimless wandering among deadness. Gruesome as the details are (worthy of tears from our pilgrims), the really awful part of this is the thought of being lost for eternity. Wandering "out of the way" is a pretty big deal. It may only be a moment's carelessness, but such lapses seem to be capable of leading one to actual damnation. A pretty good reason to color within the lines...